Today In History

John Glenn flew 59 combat missions in the South Pacific during World War II, and flew 63 missions during the Korean conflict. He received many decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross six times. After the Korean conflict, Glenn joined the Naval Air Test Center's staff of expert flyers and served as a test pilot for Naval and Marine aircraft, including the FJ3, the F7U Cutlass, and the F8U Crusader. One of Glenn's most notable accomplishments was when he set the speed record for flying from Los Angeles to New York in three hours and 23 minutes in 1957. His experience and skill made him a logical candidate for the astronaut corps being formed in 1958. In 1959, NASA selected him as one of the first seven astronauts in the U.S. space program, and on February 20, 1962, atop an Atlas rocket, he rode into space and piloted the Friendship 7 spacecraft around the globe three times, becoming the first American to orbit the earth.